“Do you have a name?” I asked.

The same voice came back at me. “Vicarius Neron Quisar.”

At least he had a sense of humor. It meant Pope of the Emperor Nero. Biblical scholars theorize that the Beast described by John the Revelator was a symbol for the current Roman emperor. Yes, that Nero, the one that supposedly fiddled while Rome burned, and also liked to martyr Christians. Others, mostly hard-line Protestants, claim the Beast symbolized the Papacy. Why not cover your bases.

– My Babylon, Book Five: Beast